A semiconductor light emitting element using a group III nitride semiconductor such as GaN is usually configured by forming a thin film of the group III nitride semiconductor including an n-type semiconductor layer, a light emitting layer and a p-type semiconductor layer in order on a substrate of, for example, sapphire.
Here, the thin film of the group III nitride semiconductor is known to have a property that diffusion of current in an in-plane direction of the thin film is small. Accordingly, in a semiconductor light emitting element using the group III nitride semiconductor, an amount of electric current at a location far from an electrode is prone to be small compared to that at a location near the electrode, and as a result, nonuniformity of quantity of light emitted from the light emitting layer is apt to be caused.
As a conventional art described in a gazette, there is known a semiconductor light emitting element having a substantially quadrangular shape, in which an extended electrode is formed on an n-type semiconductor layer exposed by removing a p-type semiconductor layer and a light emitting layer along four sides of the semiconductor light emitting element and a finger electrode connected to the extended electrode is formed on the n-type semiconductor layer exposed by removing the p-type semiconductor layer and the light emitting layer in a direction of a diagonal line of the semiconductor light emitting element, and thereby an electric current flowing from the p-type semiconductor layer to the n-type semiconductor layer through the light emitting layer is diffused (refer to Patent Document 1). In addition, in the Patent Document 1, it is also described that plural p-bonding pad electrodes are provided on the p-type semiconductor layer.